Riding the Storm

Outskirt of the Storm

    I can remember riding back home with my father back in June from our family reunion. We had just rode through the worst rain storm I've rode through to date between Douglas and Casper, and spent about an hour at a gas station to change and dry off before heading to Shoshoni for our next stop. Some raggedy old biker was on his way home from work when he stopped to inquire about our trip. When he found out we were on the latter half of our 2500 mile loop he shook our hands and offered to buy us rounds at his clubs bar. We politely declined in that we were on a time crunch, but had a good visit.

    The rain let off between Casper and Shoshoni for the most part, and other than the antelope and fresh chip seal, there wasn't much to worry about along the way. As we rolled into Shoshoni I took notice of a small bar on the side of the road with an old chopper sitting outside; I couldn't help but think it was probably the bartenders because I remembered seeing it on our way through the first time.

Boysen State Park

   We cut North en-route to Cody on HWY 20 and I've got to say, if you've never rode the 20, you otta. Not long after leaving Shoshoni we found ourselves along side Boysen State Park and its reservoir. Riding along side of the reservoir at the fall of the sun put an amazing light along the landscape; clouds still off in the distance. You begin riding through twists and turns as you enter the canyon with walls that touch the sky.

   Darkness had finally fallen right around Thermopolis and lightening lit up the sky in the distance. After leaving Thermopolis I decided it was time to take a piss before the rain hit again so we pulled over for a minute. I looked up and watched the sky, and as the lightening lit up the sky I could see the grey and white clouds above us. It was the kind of storm with lightening everywhere but not a crack of thunder to be heard in that moment.

   A lightening lit sky at 11:30pm after a solid rain is something to see while you're out in the middle of nowhere WY. The smell, the sight, its just something that sticks with you. I hopped back on the bike and we took off. Now unfortunately we had noticed earlier in the day that my high beam had gone out. This made for an interesting ride considering the elements, as I had to ride elbow to elbow with my father in order to clearly see. My father and I ride this way pretty much everywhere we go, but it was quite a bit more intimidating once the rain started hailing down on us again.

   If you're a biker who truly rides to live and lives to ride, you'll know that no matter how hard I try, I'll never truly be able to captivate the details of experiences like these; but it is my hope that I can do so well enough to bring back your memories to your own moments of the past of mutual experience. Because spite the rain, the cold, the burned out high beam and being 80 miles from our destination, it was still an experience I'll never forget, one that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.

   Out there on the road, everything just disappears and all you've got is the gas in your tank and the road beneath you. There are many experiences I'd like to share with you, but at this time I'm struggling to get my family into a better home, but in time I hope to be able to. I'd like to share experiences like getting stuck on WY HWY-26 while they chip-sealed, hot as the sun and nowhere to piss but a sage brush for all to see (not that we care haha). I'd like to share the experience of the front of that rain storm and the wind blowing so hard that we were riding at a 45 degree angle on an interstate practically flooded with water, even the cages were pulling over to wait it out; but not us.

   In time my friends, for those who find joy in story swapping the Idaho Hog will get there in time. Its my hope that one day The Idaho Hog will be an archive for all my experiences as a biker to one day share with my boy, the story of the life I've lived. A story of adventure and excitement, fear and sadness.

MLH&R
Ziptie
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